MTG Character Profile: Tamiyo

This is the third in a series of profiles of some of the planeswalkers appearing in War of the Spark. In this article, we discuss the life and work of Tamiyo, a historian who often becomes involved in the events she tries to observe.

The Moon Sage

Tamiyo is a member of the soratami people from the plane of
Kamigawa. Her magical abilities are based on storytelling, and she casts spells
by reading relevant stories from scrolls she carries with her. She is also
notable for being one of a very few planeswalkers with a family and a social
life: she has a husband and three children on Kamigawa, and she regularly meets
with other planeswalkers, including Narset
and Ajani,
as part of a “Story Circle” that trades information about the Multiverse.

Tamiyo spent several years studying the effects of
Innistrad’s moon on its inhabitants. She documented the reappearance of the plane’s
missing protector, the archangel Avacyn,
and the changes in Avacyn’s behavior as Emrakul
began to influence the plane. When Jace came to Innistrad looking for Sorin, he
tried to persuade her to help him destroy Avacyn and save the plane. She
refused, since she was there to watch and record events, not to influence them.

When Sorin destroyed Avacyn and Emrakul emerged on Innistrad,
Tamiyo found herself swept up in events anyway, helping the Gatewatch seal
Emrakul away. During the battle, Tamiyo was possessed by Emrakul, who forced
her to read a spell she had sworn never to cast. The spell generated the mana
necessary for Emrakul to seal herself inside Innistrad’s moon. Rattled by the
experience, Tamiyo refused to join the Gatewatch and went home.

At the time of War of
the Spark, Tamiyo appears to have recovered from her adventures on
Innistrad and returned to her research. She arrived on Ravnica to observe and
record the events of the battle, but an encounter with the eternalized zombies
of Amonkhet’s gods convinced her that she could no longer remain a neutral
observer, and must fight to protect Ravnica and its people.

Collector of Tales

This decklist represents Tamiyo’s practice of observing
history without interfering in it. Control spells and Tamiyo’s planeswalker
abilities clear the way for flying creatures to do what they do best: attack.

Mara started playing Magic in 2015 and is a big fan of Magic‘s story and flavor. Her current favorite decks are her Gishath, Sun’s Avatar Commander deck and her Niv-Mizzet, Parun Brawl deck, but she’s always up for a brewing challenge.